Written by Ernie Casanova
For the second straight year in a row. UCF is in a New Year’s Six Bowl Game. After going undefeated and beating Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Knights finished this year again without a loss and will now take on another SEC powerhouse in the LSU Tigers.
After Scott Frost’s departure along with the arrival of new head coach Josh Heupel, UCF and its surrounding fanbase weren’t pretty sure of how the future was going to look. Frost was viewed as Central Florida’s football savior, and there was much skepticism going into this year. In comes Heupel, and although there were some visible struggles throughout the year, the team competed with the same level of intensity week in and week out not missing a beat.
LSU’s Ed Orgeron stepped into Baton Rouge three years ago looking to bring the Tigers back to prominence after the Les Miles era came to an end. It’s not a very easy task trying to bring a program back into the winners circle in a conference like the SEC, but Orgeron has fared very well. After two winning seasons with an improved record and two straight Citrus Bowl appearances, Orgeron and Co. finished the year 9-3 with the future looking upwards.
The Knights are 5th in the country in points per game, but are 3rd in total offense. They are 6th in the nation with 44.2 points per game and allow a total of 21.2 points per game which is 25th in the nation. Although it isn’t the same as last year, it’s still pretty darn impressive. QB McKenzie Milton was having himself another impressive season, amassing over 2000 passing yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions, but a gruesome injury had sidelined him for the last game and possibly more considering the success of the surgeries.
In comes freshman QB Darriel Mack, and in a game and a half, has a total of 522 passing yards with two touchdowns and a completion percentage of 57.1. Mack does have great help in the backfield, with the formidable trio of running backs in Greg Mcrae, Adrian Killins Jr. and Taj McGowan. All have tallied more than 450 rushing yards and six touchdowns, with McCrae leading the pack with 1101 yards. Killins is questionable for the game, but they also have the likes of Otis Anderson who has over 200 rushing and receiving yards with seven total touchdowns. If Killins isn’t available, Anderson may be an X-Factor for the game.
As for the Tigers, they are led by QB Joe Burrow and running back Nick Brosette. Burrow has passed for 2500 yards on the season with 12 touchdowns, while Brossette has 922 yards in the ground with a whopping 14 touchdowns. Backup Clyde Edwards-Helairen has been a significant body in the backfield with 626 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns, but is probable for the game after an off-field incident although he is most likely going to suit up. Wide Receiver Justin Jefferson is the only wideout on the team with more than 500 receiving yards and leads the team with touchdown receptions although its only four.
The Tigers will need their defense (24th OPP Pts/G) to make a huge step forward against a high powered offense that hasn’t lost a step even with a backup quarterback in taking the reps. LSU’s offense, ranked a mediocre 44th in scoring will need to do all they can to keep up, and they shouldn’t have trouble doing so as ball management will be key.
